Starting regular milk

[JAXX55]

Alex is 11 mos now and I'm starting to think about transitioning to regular milk, I just can't remember how I did it with my two older kids(they're 13 and 9 now, so it's been awhile). I do remember throwing bottles away by their first birthdays. I'm pretty sure it was cold turkey too. I just can't remember if I gave them formula in their sippy cups or if I just switched to milk at the same time I threw the bottles away. darn, how did I do that?

Alex is no longer breastfeeding and is on Similac Isomil.
Wondering if I should start giving him little drinks of milk(we drink 1% or non-fat now), or if I should just wait until he turns 1(Aug 14) and like the others, throw the bottles away and give him 1% in his sippy...

any suggestions?
thanks

[blueeyedtabbycat]

well im in the same boat as you. I have started giving Taylor whole milk in a sippy cup and also adding a small amount (maybe an oz) to her formula bottles. She is on soy now and wont drink reg formula although I know she can handle it now she just doesnt like the taste. She doesnt do very well with a sippy either just alot of playing, lol. I would just slowly transition to a sippy while giving small amount of milk a day. Any reason why you are going to give him 1% or 2%?? I was always told whole milk untill they are 2 years old. All my kids are under weight so I still give them whole milk and my oldest are 9 and 6 years old. I had a lady yell at me about that recsently but I asked her if she had kids and she said no. I rest my case. My oldest just hit 51 lbs now so we are pretty excited about it, lol!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

but do it over the next month so its not so tramatizing to him when you just up and take the bottles. Best of luck!

[kaprovea]

This is my first and he turns one on July 28th.  This is what I plan on doing and what the doctor told me to do.  The doctor told me to just take away hsi bottles cold turkey.  He is only drinking three right now so instead of getting a bottle in the morning he will just get breakfast and in stead of a bottle in the afternoon he will get a snack and then just no bottle before bed.  With the milk I am going to start transitioning him to milk next week.  I am going to start by giving him 1/4 milk and the rest water and then each day increase the amount of milk he gets until he is just drinking straight milk.  I am going to do it this way bc it is a strong taste for them and a lot of babies don't like straight milk right away.  My doctor told me to just have him drink milk at meals and water at other times.  I was also told to do whole milk first.

[JAXX55]

Alex has taken a sippy since about 7 mos but still takes formula from the bottle, so its not the sippy im worried about, its the formula to milk transition im not sure about. All my kids have always taken 1 or 2% milk, so that doesn't concern me either. The only difference is fat... ;)

Thanks for the input... I think I'll just start giving him little bits at a time and by the time his 1st Bday rolls around he should be good and ready to toss the dreaded ba ba's... lol  

Thanks Again and Good Luck with your kiddos as well!

[kaprovea]

No my doctor didn't tell me to start that way I think that I read it in a book or magazine.  I will inform you about how it goes.  I am going to start him on Monday so hopefully it goes well.

[rdh1981]

Can't wait to hear how it goes! : )

[kaprovea]

I tried the 1/4 milk the rest of water with Joel tonight and he did just fine iwth it.  He didn't drink that much of it but I figure he will start drinking more of it when he stops taking the formula.

[tiredbuthappy]

I think whole milk is recommended until 2 years old because babies need a specific kind of fat for brain development. They only recommend lower fat milk for babies that are obese or have a high chance of being obese.

My first couldn't figure out sippy cups until 18 months, although she could handle a straw cup around 12 months. This one drinks pretty well, but definitely not well enough yet to get the recommended 16 to 20 ounces of milk a 1 yr old needs each day. Once she can get that out of a cup, I will switch. Neither of my girls relied on a bottle for comfort because we made sure to put them in a bed while awake. Losing the bottles wasn't hard the first time, and I don't see it being a problem this time.

As for transitioning, I don't think there's a right or wrong way. However, I think that I am going to introduce milk in a cup only, probably at meals. If the baby gets used to drinking milk in a bottle, she may resist it in a cup. As her milk intake increases, I'll offer less bottles.

[rdh1981]

Glad to know it went well!!! I am just sooooooo ready to get the bottles behind us!!! Cruz hates them! I started only giving him 3 a day and he has really increased his solid food intake! Plus now he drinks a lot a more water throughout the day!

Since his Birthday is August 11th, I might start introducing small amounts of whole milk next week! I really need to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

[kaprovea]

Is it really necessary to go all the way to the 1st birthday with formula?? Can I cut it out a week early?? I am also getting tired of the bottles and want to move on to bigger and better things.

[blueeyedtabbycat]

we started my older boys around 11 months. I dont think you" have to" wait untill a year. I dont see anything wrong with a week early, lol! Good luck!

[rdh1981]

I was wondering that too! Because I will be going back to teaching the day of Cruz's birthday and I wanted to start him at home for a week before he returned to Daycare! Maybe I will just call his pedi and check!!

I am so ready to move on too!!! My fear is that he will not take enough in his sippy cups. He still hates chunky foods so I am still so limited there too!

[colorado_g]

how you serve it? cold cooked?
my son drinks around 5 bottles per night any sugestion how to limit

[blueeyedtabbycat]

5 bottles total all day and night??? I would just give during naps and bed time and do cups during the day, but thats just me. In the cup I do just cold milk but you can heat it for a few seconds to take the chill off it especially if your LO is used to having warm formula:~) Thats just me, maybe some of the other gals will have diffrent ideas:~)
Did you finally dry up??? I see you are TTC again!!! So exciting!!

[rdh1981]

I started giving Cruz small amounts of whole milk last Friday. At first I gave it to him in a regular cup and held it for him to drink. He thought I was drinking from it so he was more than happy to take it! He seemed to really like it! I did this for a few days and yesterday I started it in a sippy cup. He took about 2-3ozs by himself. I know this is not his daily requirements but he is still taking 24oz of formula  a day.

I hope this transition goes smooth because we are all tired of the bottles!

colorado- you are ttc? that is great! good luck!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Go Cruz!!! Taylor loves her sippy but seems to like to suck out the milk and then let it spill out her lips! She starts giggling and thinks its funny! I have been very tempted to just throw the bottles but havent done it yet:~( I think I am getting way more relaxed in my older age (as opposed to with my older kids) becasue I didnt take the bottle away from Dalton untill 18 months!!!! It was just way to easy for me to make him a bottle and give it to him:~( He also wanted Taylors bottles too, so I think thats parcialy to blame:~( But I am staying firm and taking Taylors bottle at a year old. I did it with Tristan and Hunter so I know it can be done, lol!

[JAXX55]

I started giving Alex a ratio of 3 to 1 for several days, then half and half, and it did not agree with him AT ALL, so it looks like we're going with the soy just like we had to do with my daughter. With my family being in the dairy business, you can imagine how well that sits! lol  oh well, gota do what you gota do right... Either way, bye bye ba ba come Aug 14th!

[rdh1981]

Ladies we are looking at the end of bottles and that feels good!

Do you think the whole milk intake will increase once the bottles are gone?

Tabby- Taylor sounds like Cruz he loves to play with his cups!

Jaxx- I am sorry to hear about Alex's tummy! That is ironic about the dairy business!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Jaxx does your Alex have really messy pooos??? Taylor was on Neocate then alumintum then soy. I tried reg formula but she didnt like the taste. I started 1/3 milk and soy formula and now she is on just milk because I ran out of formula but I have noticed she has had some very messy diapers. Not runny like diareaha but very messy, lol. I am wondering about the milk being the culprit:~( She was allergy tested for both soy and milk protiens but the doctor said she wasnt allergic (that was when she was only a few months old) On soy her stools were very hard and infruequent. Hmmmm..........................

[colorado_g]

no i still have it . I hate it my dh is making a jokes of it that it is waiting for nbaby number 2:)

[ladybugbob1029]

Blueeyed - just thought I would interject.  Cash's poops have been messier since starting milk, but my pedi says that is normal bc of the increase amount of dairy.  

However, Cash is off the bottle but trying to get him to get at least 16oz of milk a day is like pulling teeth!!  Anyone else having this problem??

[JAXX55]

tabby, Alex's poos were a little messier while on the milk, but being on soy they are always on the verge of hard. im gona try the soy dream or lactaid this week and see how that goes...

[rdh1981]

Cruz's poop has gotten messier too! He is on lactose free formula (not soy) only because he stopped taking the regular kind. He was breastfeed for 8 months so I really do not think he has a lactose problem.....sigh he is so picky!

He is still taking 24oz of formula, this is his last week because he will be "1" on the 11th. He has been taking roughly 8oz or a little more of whole milk. I am hoping once he is finished with bottles we can get him to 16oz!  Why can't eating and drinking because easy! I love food, why doesn't he?! : )